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Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2011

Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2011 - For the first time ever, five photographers have been shortlisted for the £12,000 Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize, the major international photography award.

Five photographers have been shortlisted for the £12,000 Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2011 which will showcase the work of some of the most talented emerging young photographers, alongside that of established professionals, photography students and gifted amateurs.

The judges have selected 60 portraits for the exhibition from over 6,000 submissions entered by 2,506 photographers. The exhibition will run from 10 November 2011 until 12 February 2012 at the National Portrait Gallery, London.

As well as the first-prize winner and four runners-up, the exhibition will feature the ELLE Commission. For the third year running, ELLE magazine will commission a photographer selected for the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize exhibition to shoot a feature story. The ELLE Commission was judged by the fashion magazine’s creative director, Marissa Bourke, together with the art director, Tom Meredith, and picture editor, Flora Bathurst.

The following five photographers have been shortlisted for the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2011:

Jasper Clarke for Wen

David Knight for Andie

Dona Schwartz for Christina and Mark, 14 months from the series On the Nest

Jooney Woodward for Harriet and Gentleman Jack

Jill Wooster for Of Lili

The prizes for the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2011 and the winner of the ELLE Commission 2011 will be announced at the awards ceremony on Tuesday 8 November 2011 at 7pm. The exhibition opens to the public on Thursday 10 November, and will be on display at the National Portrait Gallery, London until 12 February 2012.

I like them, each one makes you think and ask questions about the subject. Too many photographers seem to think portraits should be judged on technical skill or how clever the lighting is. It's the human angle that really matters.

I like them, each one makes you think and ask questions about the subject. Too many photographers seem to think portraits should be judged on technical skill or how clever the lighting is. It's the human angle that really matters.

I agree, but compare these with anything that Jane Bowen has done for example and I still don't understand it. [link=http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2010/dec/05/10-best-photographic-portraits-mccabe]Have a look at this[/link].

I agree, but compare these with anything that Jane Bowen has done for example and I still don't understand it. Have a look at this .

I suppose one has to consider to whom these images are targetted. The art world is notorious for looking at a mundane picture and gushing about how significant that shadow is and how the direct gaze of the subject unsettles the viewer. To arty types, this is all grist to the mill. It's their world.
I suspect that to a lot of us the images will be looked at with a photographer's eye as well as an artistic one. As such, only the first one does anything for me. Horses for courses.

I suppose one has to consider to whom these images are targetted. The art world is notorious for looking at a mundane picture and gushing about how significant that shadow is and how the direct gaze of the subject unsettles the viewer. To arty types, this is all grist to the mill. It's their world.

I suspect that to a lot of us the images will be looked at with a photographer's eye as well as an artistic one. As such, only the first one does anything for me. Horses for courses.